Jo Crowley

At the Grand Slam Qazaqstan Barysy, world silver medallist Zhenzhao Ma of China claimed the gold medal in the U78kg category. In the final, she faced Anna Monta Olek, who, despite being ranked 13th in the world and winning two World Judo Tour golds this year, is unable to secure a spot at the Games due to the competitive landscape. Nonetheless, Olek remains focused on long-term progress, laying the groundwork for future cycles.

French judoka Romane Dicko showcased her readiness for the upcoming Olympics by clinching the gold medal in Astana, Kazakhstan. Despite the presence of formidable opponents like current Olympic champion Akira Sone of Japan and 4-time Olympic medallist Idalys Ortiz of Cuba, Dicko's dominant performance sent a clear message to her competitors.

Odette Giuffrida, already a European champion, a double Olympic medallist and a senior world bronze medallist, finally has her first global title. Just ten weeks ahead of the Olympic Games, she can already say that 2024 is an incredible year, but the big blockbuster is yet to come. Giuffrida became the first world champion for Italy since 1991 and the fourth in history.

The last day of the individual World Judo Championships in Abu Dhabi saw Japan's Wakaba Tomita clinch the heavyweight world title, continuing Japan's dominance in the women's heavyweight category. Since 2018, only Romane Dicko from France has interrupted Japan's reign as the non-Japanese world champion in 2022. All other titles have been claimed by Japanese athletes.

The Abu Dhabi World Championships 2024 saw an epic and honourable race come to an end, one that the judo family has been following closely. In 2021 Jessica Klimkait represented Canada at the Olympic Games, -57kg; Christa Deguchi was not selected. The two had campaigned and medalled all over the world but only one could fly the Olympic flag. Jessica won a bronze medal.

Christa Deguchi can finally add an Olympic gold to her two world championship titles, marking a historic first gold medal for Canada in judo. Through tears, Deguchi expressed her joy: “It was so long to get here. I started when I was three, and the Olympics was always my dream. Missing Tokyo, these three years felt so long, especially with the intense qualification period. I am very happy to bring back the medal, and to be honest, to begin with, any color was fine, but winning the gold is very special.”

The Cadet World Judo Championships in Lima witnessed an electrifying start as the girls division U44 kg was dominated by Slovakia's Patricia Tomankova, the top seed and reigning world number one for the past two years. Tomankova's journey to the final was virtually unchallenged, reflecting her dominance in the division. With two world cadet medals already under her belt, bronze in Sarajevo in 2022 and gold in Zagreb in 2023, Tomankova was on the verge of adding another gold to her collection. Her victory in the European cadet championships earlier this year further cemented her status as the favorite.

On day three of the Cadet World Championships in Lima, Brazil solidified its lead in the medal standings thanks to a gold medal from Honoka Kimura, while Azerbaijan moved into second place with a gold from Jasur Ibadli. Brazil remained in third place, closely followed by Mongolia, which saw Terbish secure a gold at -57 kg to add to the nation’s two silvers and a bronze. With one day of individual competition left, the final standings remain uncertain.

In an all-Asian final of the women’s U48kg division in Dushanbe, Xinran Hui (CHN) took on Sachiyo Yoshino (JPN). Each of the finalists began their day in unseeded positions and had to pass the biggest names in the category. They did and they did it well. Both brought pace and technical ability to the Kasri Tennis Arena, making for a high speed final.

In the only men’s category of the second day of the Junior World Championships at the Kasri Tennis Arena in Dushanbe, Judofans saw Japan shine again. The all-Japanese final U73kg between Yusuke Takeichi and Keita Kihara was laboured to begin with, both being penalised early for holding back their sleeves to avoid the grip. Takeichi then received another, for non-combativity. Kihara chose that moment to unleash a devastating left uchi-mata to throw his teammate for ippon and become junior world champion, a big step up from his 5th place last year.